My Seventeen-Year-Old Board

This week, the boys have Thursday and Friday off for student holiday. I took Đạo, Đán, and Xuân to Liberty today. Since today is weekday, the resort was not crowded. All four of us hit the blue terrains without having to wait in line for the lifts.

I worked on short turns with the 156-cm Capita Indoor Survival. The board is a bit taller than me. Turning was a bit harder at first, but quite effective once I could initiate the turns. I am starting to appreciate its sturdiness and stability. I made some great runs today on the blue and black terrains with my sons.

I got my snowboard boots back from Đán. He took over my boots and gave me his crappy rental boots since we both wear the same size. His rental boots hurt my feet so much that I made him exchanged it for another pair. The latest pair seems to work well for him. As for my boots, they helped tremendously with easing the burns. My feet were still uncomfortable in the first few runs, but they were fine afterward. I am still looking into buying a new pair of traditional bindings. That might be more comfortable than the step-in bindings.

After some googling, I learned that the Capita Indoor Survival was released in 2006. Even though it is 17 years old, the board is still in great condition. In retrospect, the board and I meant to be for each other. When the previous owner listed it on Facebook’s Marketplace, I thought it was a 110-cm board for kids. I contacted him to buy for my son, but he said it was definitely not for kids. Since he only asked for $35, I went to check it out. When we met up, the board still looked new. When I rubbed my finger on the bindings, microfibers came off like dusts. In addition, the board was way too tall for me. I declined the sale and walked back to my car. Then I changed my mind and wanted to just get it. At the same time, he drove up to me and said he would sale it for $20 because he just wanted to get rid of it. I smiled at him and handed him a $20 bill and he told me to pick up the board off his truck. Now thinking about it, I should have paid him $35 or $50. It was definitely a steal. I am going to maintain and use this boards for many years to come.